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Saturday, July 4, 2015

What should we call the physician-assisted act of intentionally killing oneself near the end of life | GeriPal - Geriatrics and Palliative Care Blog

What should we call the physician-assisted act of intentionally killing oneself near the end of life | GeriPal - Geriatrics and Palliative Care Blog: "Here are the leading options:Death with Dignity: I know what I’m about to say will be taken as a great offense to some who read this blog, but come on. This is just pandering. The term is vague and value laden that offers nothing to the debate over the topic except spin. It also makes it seem like this is the only road to go if you want dignity at death. Physician-aid in dying (PAD): I’m not loving this one either mainly because of a loss of specificity. Are we providing people aid that are dying by focusing on their comfort or are we aiding them to die by giving them medications with the intent to end their lives? Only the latter is correct but people may confuse the former with it Aid in Dying: I’m not even sure what to do with this one. Who is aiding who with what again
Physician Assisted Death (another PAD): I'll talk more about this below, but this makes it unclear if we are including euthanasiaPhysician Assisted Suicide (PAS): this is probably the most specific term for the physician assisted act of killing oneself intentionally. However I do realize that many criticize this definition as suicide is linked with mental illness and lack of decision-making capacity (both of which may I add shouldn't be stigmatized either)

With all of this said, I feel the most technically correct phrase to use is Physician Assisted Suicide (sui: of oneself + caedere: kill)."

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